Morning Devotionals

by Don Emmitte

 

April 23rd, 2008

 

"The Sound of God's Voice (Part 5)"

The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. (Psalm 111:7-10 NIV).

The fourth principle in learning to recognize the voice of God is that he confirms his message and never contradicts his word. If the Lord is leading us to move toward action, He often speaks through several sources. For example, we may hear His voice within. Then someone delivers an unmistakably similar message to us. In our Bible reading, certain verses confirm what we've heard, and when we flip on the radio, a preacher is using that same passage as his text! Finally, when we explain the concept to trusted advisers, they agree that the message sounds like God's voice. In other words, when He's guiding us, God usually doesn't speak in a vacuum. He confirms His words so we're certain of His directive.

If we're not sure whether God has spoken or precisely what He's saying, it's wise to wait for confirmation. We can even ask Him to confirm His words through additional methods and messengers. My advice, however, is to wait for God's messages to flow toward us naturally, in the course of our days, rather than inventing a prefabricated sign as a measuring stick. A man once told me that he challenged God, "If I'm to marry this woman, please have that streetlight turn off." Suddenly the light switched off, and he decided to propose. I shuddered. If we test God with ridiculous requests, He may allow us to suffer the consequences.

A second part of this principle is also important as God never contradicts His word. Whatever God speaks to us, He will never contradict the truth of His precepts found in the Bible. Friends have said to me, "I have perfect peace about this," when their course of action obviously violated God's Word. Peace is not an indicator of the Lord's approval or guidance if the underlying motive or action contradicts the Scriptures or leads us into sin. When we're seeking guidance or making a decision, nothing can supersede the Bible's holiness and authority.

So the guideline is simple: If the message runs contrary to the Scriptures, it's not God's voice. He will confirm with His Word, but never will He contradict it.